Sunday, December 13, 2015

I've been meaning to do this for about 6 years now...but school, 2 kids and moving to another state got in the way...

I FINALLY opened up an etsy shop! I know, I know, the timing is terrible, right before Christmas and all. I would have had this open at the beginning of November but man, life with four kids is crazy and at the end of the day I'm exhausted. Never the less, I am proud to finally have a little shop of my own. Right now, it's full of adult size infinity scarves, both sewn and those that I crochet. It's full of pretty things that I made, y'all! That's exciting!

It could be a giant flop, or it could be something where I can actually feel like I contribute a wee bit to our income. We shall see, but, no matter what it is, it will be fun. I love creating things and I love photography, so taking pretty pictures of things that I make and selling them just makes sense right now.So, if, perhaps, you need a last minute gift or a new scarf for yourself...I can guarantee delivery by Christmas if you order by 12/16!

The shop name is Crissybell's Creations (so creative, I know...) and here is a little peak of what you'll see when you stop in for a visit...

Saturday, November 14, 2015

Here is the second
November pattern for the Sew What Club, The Madeline Dress. Miss B was
feeling left out so I let her have this dress. I test a size 6 for the
Sew What Club so this is a little big on her but... we'll pretend that's ok
and she can wear this dress for Thanksgiving and be matchy matchy with
Miss L wearing this dress.

This pose, HA!

I used the same fine whale corduroy and quilting cotton as The Montpellier. I like to make two of the same dresses that coordinate or different dresses with matching fabric for my girls. I'm weird. :)

In other news Thanksgiving is less than two weeks away (WHAT?) and I can't believe that. I may be looking forward to Thanksgiving break more than the kids because I get to sleep in and don't have to drive to a million activities. AND I get to cook yummy food. Thanksgiving dinner is the best, definitely something to be thankful for.

Wednesday, October 21, 2015

Can you believe that October is almost over? It's starting to feel like Fall around here, crunchy leaves, all things pumpkin and lovely sunsets.

Although I am a summer
lover, I have been able to make my peace with the cooler temps and pull
all of the layers and boots out of my closet. It's not my favorite
thing to do but I can't complain too much because fall is so pretty and warm here
in Georgia.

But I went off on a
tangent there so back to the subject at hand. Here is the children's
pattern for the Sew What Club to be released November 1st, the
Montpellier Dress.

I found this fine whale corduroy at Hobby Lobby and I LOVE it. I need to go back and get more
so I can make Miss B a dress with it too. It is to die for. Gray and
pink, you slay me.

It's also Kid's Clothes Week so I killed two birds with one stone right here. This might be the
only thing I sew up for KCW because fall is a busy time, y'all. I mean,
head spinning busy.

In other news, I am allowed to play Christmas music in 11 days, so I am pretty excited about that. :)

Thursday, October 1, 2015

Here is the first children's pattern for the Sew What Club in October. This one is so cute! May I introduce the Cocoon Dress.

This is a simple shift dress with ruffle sleeves and a cocoon shape, hence the name. :) Totally cute for fall.

I was too lazy to change the thread in my serger to white, so if you see the black seams that's why. Also, the recovery on this fabric (a cotton jersey) isn't that great which is why the neckline stretched out a bit. A great way to fix that is put in a neckband like a regular t-shirt. But again, I was too lazy.

This picture is deceiving because it looks like a beautiful fall day but it was hot and sticky, she was a trooper for putting on boots and a long sleeved dress. That's her personality though, "sure, mom, whatever you need!" Such a sweet girl.

Wednesday, September 30, 2015

Today's selfish sewing is the iCandy Fun Summer Tee. This is a free pattern and you can't beat free. I like the dropped shoulder seam and the contrasting front and back. This is the perfect print to feature a fun print on the front and coordinating solid on the back.

The pattern is a medium and I think I will take it in a little next time I make this so it isn't as baggy. That's the great part about making your own clothes, you can get the perfect fit.

The front fabric is a jersey rayon and it is from Girl Charlee Knit Fix from a few months back. The back fabric is from Joann and is a cotton jersey.

This shirt sewed up fast and is perfect for warm fall days. Can't wait to make a few more!

Tuesday, September 29, 2015

I've never participated in selfish sewing week because I didn't start sewing for myself until about a year ago. That all changed when I discovered the wonderful world of knits. Since that discovery I've made quite a few things, things that I actually wear! I thought it would be fun to share some of those wearable items this week. There was no planning done for this so these are all things I've already made and love wearing. My sewing time this week is devoted to assembling pdf patterns and cutting those patterns out, not my favorite part but it has to be done.To start, here is one of my favorite shirt patterns. This is the Day Tripper Top by Shwin Designs.

It's a dolman style top that comes together really quickly and is pretty cute.

The fabric is from a Girl Charlee Knit Fix, it's a Jersey Rayon blend. It's a little sheer, so a tank is necessary underneath and that means this is not something I can wear when it's warm, but it was only 73 and rainy yesterday so I didn't melt.

This is the second I've made of this pattern so far and I like it more each time. It's cute without being too boring and is a little more fun than a regular t-shirt. I guess it dresses up my "mama" uniform just a bit.

Monday, September 21, 2015

Here is another top from the Sew What Club. This is the second September pattern and oh so cute! The fabric has been in my stash for a while, from fabricworm and I can't remember the designer (sorry). I whipped this up in about two hours if you don't count all of the times I was interrupted.

The Monceau was meant for an invisible zipper, (my favorite to put in!) but I didn't have one that would match so I put in a regular zipper and it still looks cute. This top would also make an adorable A-line dress. I have so many ideas and so little time. :) Such is the life of a creative maniac with four kids!

Are you excited for fall? It was 90 here today so I'm still pretending it's summer and will do so until the weather changes.

Monday, August 31, 2015

Call me crazy, but I'm not ready for summer to be over. Down here in Georgia, the heat is still on for a while longer, but pools are closing and kids are back in school. That makes me sad! It feels strangely like fall even though it's hot and I've even seen a few leaves give up and fall to the ground.

While I sit here mourning summer, I might as well show y'all another dress that I made for the Sew What Club. This is just in time for back to school sewing, it's due to be released on September 1st.

It's an adorable drop waist dress, with an adorable pleated skirt, called the Maren Dress. Jessica from CINO is the pattern designer. I think she did a great job!

Since this was a test, I used a basic quilting cotton from my stash, but this would be beautiful with some gorgeous cotton from April Rhodes' new collection, Bound. I am dying to get my hands on some of that!

The peter pan collar is a cute addition and this would make a great school uniform if made in a solid color. This little gal lost another front tooth last week. I love the no-teeth smile...so cute! :)

Wednesday, August 19, 2015

If you're a Sew What Club member, this is the pattern you received on August 15th. May I introduce the Marsielle Romper! This one is cute! As soon as I received the pattern to test, I knew exactly what fabric I wanted to use.

I've had this beautiful floral in my stash for about five years now. It was from a vintage fabric haul my great Aunt gave me. It's been sitting there just waiting for a project and this was it!

Unfortunately, I barely had a yard of it. So I had to fussy cut and there was no room for mistakes. Usually that is no problem for me, I don't make too many mistakes, except for this time. Oh the mistakes, oh the tears, oh the frustration.

I was almost done cutting and then on the final piece I cut one of the bottom back pieces out twice in the same direction instead of mirror images. I panicked. Normally this wouldn't be a big deal but there was NO fabric left to correct the mistake. I wanted to throw in the towel because I hate making mistakes. I wanted to give up and just go to bed. But I didn't give up nor did I go to bed. Instead that back portion was pieced together using two pieces of fabric. I thought I would just do that for the sake of photographs and then this romper would be scrapped.

But no! It isn't noticeable because of the large floral print and I think it is adorable! Unless you really look close you can't see it. The mistake is in the picture above, see if you can find it?

I'm glad I didn't trash this one. The fabric was just too pretty to waste.

Friday, July 24, 2015

Another cute pattern from the Sew What Club. For members, the Cannes pattern will be released on August 1st.

This is such a cute swim coverup, I decided I wanted it a little shorter than called for in the pattern, so I made it tunic length and I think it is adorable!

The fabric is a cotton jersey from Girl Charlee and the trim is me made. Pineapples are in right now, so I knew that these pineapples needed to be made into a Cannes. Like I've said before, fabric speaks to me. I also knew I needed a neon pop for the trim. Pom poms probably would have been cuter but that required a trip to Hobby Lobby and I wanted a specific color so I whipped up some crochet trim in a few hours. I love the pop of color it adds.

You can make this pattern lined, but it's too hot here for that. However, come fall, the lining could come in handy if you wanted to hack this pattern into a cute shirt.

I think that is about it, a short and sweet post for a short and sweet Cannes coverup!

Monday, July 13, 2015

My oldest son and oldest daughter went to visit their grandparents (two sets) in Seattle for the summer. They've been gone for six long weeks. I know they are having the time of their lives enjoying Grandparents, Great-Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles and cousins that they don't see often, but I want them home! Only a few more days and I can hug them and kiss them and we'll be back to a crazy, loud, chaotic, family of 6, I can't wait!

Before the kids left, I sewed up this cute Lulu Dress from CINO. I've had this fabric forever and really didn't know what to make with it. It's a soft jersey rayon mix from Girl Charlee and I thought it would be cute paired with a solid so as to distract from the busy print. I made the sleeves a little different than the pattern. I extended them for a more dolman style sleeve.

She looks adorable in it and said she likes it because it's "long." I need to make her a maxi dress, both of my girls are always asking for long dresses...

The pockets on this dress are fun and a must have. I've made a few other versions of the Lulu dress, here, here and here. It's a cute pattern. :)